The average duration between deaths have been 23.5 days. The typical average for this is 44.6 days. The 4 deaths in April was atypical. That 44% belonged to a religious order is also slightly out of the norm.

10 cardinals died in both 2014 & 2013, while the number was 9 for both 2012 & 2011. It was 6 in 2010. So the 2015 number is close to to ‘high water mark’.

Keeping track of cardinal deaths is in no way morbid. It is something one has to do IF one is to keep tabs on the College of Cardinals. Only three things alter the fundamental parameters of the College: creations, 80-year aging outs and deaths.

I used to maintain this type of chart — until I stopped doing so once Pope Francis was elected in 2013. Click to ENLARGE. I plan to go back to doing this.

In 2011 I did a fair amount of research and analysis into cardinal deaths. Here are some examples. Go to “Popes and Papacy” and do a search on “cardinal deaths” for more. Here are some of the charts from those posts. Click to ENLARGE. My goal is to resurrect and update these charts. The good news is that I have the Excel spreadsheet.

That U.S. Cardinal Deacon John Patrick Foley [dob: Nov. 11, 1935] was very sick, with leukemia, and was returning from Rome to take up residence at the Villa St. Joseph, in Darby, PA, a convalescent home for Catholic Clerics was known as of February of this year. His resignation, as the Grand Master of the Equestrian Order of the Holy Sepulcher, submitted to the pope on February 8, 2011 was accepted on August 29. Please read the August 29 post for details of his atypical career.

The College is now down to 192, and the electors are now down to 109.

The last time we were at 111 electors was on March 20, 2010.

We have lost 12 electors since the start of the year, but the College is still plenty big enough to elect the next pope.

Cardinal Foley is the 9th cardinal to die this year and the 2nd cardinal elector (the other having been German Cardinal Georg Maximilian Sterzinsky, on June 30, who was 75). Both of these are above the norm. Check this post.

The recent average for the number of cardinals dying per year is 7.5. We didn’t have a single cardinal elector die in 2010 or 2009. We have to go back to 2007 to have two electors die in the same year. To compound matters the first death of 2011 did not occur until April 1. That is late. So these deaths have occurred in a more compressed time frame. Despite the two electors, the average age of the cardinals to die this year was 84 years. That is below the normal for the past decade.

The prior cardinal to die was John Paul II’s (#265) friend and compatriot, 87-year old Polish Cardinal Priest Andrzej Maria Deskur on September 3rd.

We have had 13 cardinals retire in 2011.

As of December 11, 2011, there are 109 cardinal electors with 83 no longer able to participate in a conclave.[The electors represent 57% of cardinals.] **********The College as of December 11, 2011 is at 192.

Please CLICK on image to ENLARGE.

Summary of Major Changes in the Last 12 Months

December 11, 2011: U.S. Cardinal Deacon John Patrick Foley, 76, dies.** College down to 192, electors down to 109 **

April 1, 2011: Indian Cardinal Priest Varkey Vithayathil Dies. FIRST death of 2011. ** College at 200, electors = 116 **

March 4, 2011: US Cardinal Priest William Henry Keeler turns 80 and ceases to be an elector. ** College continues at 201, electors = 116 **

February 27, 2011: [Resignation valid as of March 1, 2011] U.S. cardinal priest Roger Mahony retired from being Archbishop of L.A. on the very day he turned 75. ** College continues at 201, electors = 117 **

August 30, 2010: French Cardinal Priest Paul Poupard turned 80 and ceased to be a cardinal elector. ** The College is still at 179; electors= 106 **

July 8, 2010: Colombian Cardinal Pedro Rubiano Sáenz retires as Archbishop of Bogotá. ** The College is still at = 179; electors = 107 **

July 7, 2010: U.S. Cardinal Theodore Edgar McCarrick, on turning 80, ceased to be an elector. ** The College is still at = 179; electors = 107 **

July 1, 2010: German Cardinal Walter Kasper, retires as the President, Pontifical Council for the Promotion of Christian Unity. ** The College is still at = 179; electors = 108 **

June 30, 2010: Italian Cardinal Bishop Giovanni Battista Re, retires as the Prefect, Congregation for Bishops and is replaced by Canadian Cardinal Marc Ouellet, my #3 papabili from 2009. ** The College is still at = 179; electors = 108 **

June 28, 2010: Indonesian Cardinal Jiulius Riyadi Darmaatmadja, retires as the Archbishop of Jakarta. ** The College is still at = 179; electors = 108 **

June 19, 2010: Latvian Cardinal Janis Pujats, retires as the Archbishop of Riga. ** The College is still at = 179; electors = 108 **

May 4, 2010: Italian Cardinal Luigi Poggi , at one time the archivist and librarian of the Holy Roman Church, died at the age of 92. ** The College now = 179; electors = 108 **

April 30, 2010: German Cardinal Paul Augustin Mayer, a Benedictine, died at the age of 98, twenty three days prior to turning 99. ** The College then = 180 **

April 16, 2010: Czechoslovakian Cardinal Tomáš Špidlík, a Jesuit, died at the age of 90. ** The College then = 181 **

March 31, 2010: Spanish CardinalJulián Herranz Casado, Opus Dei,on turning 80 ceased to be an elector. We then had 108 electors. Julián Herranz Casado (b. March 31, 1930) of Spain, the retired President of the Pontifical Council for the Interpretation of the Legislative Texts and President of the Disciplinary Commission of the Roman Curia turned 80 and thus ceased to be an elector. Spain has 10 cardinals, but only half of them are now eligible to vote. That still gives them a slight edge in terms of real representation. With 5 out of the 108 electors, Spain would a 4.6% representation if there were to be a conclave anytime soon. However, in terms of the world population of Catholics, Spain only has about 3.9%. So they can’t really complain, even though they probably will. Brazil with 3 times more Catholics has one less elector. Mexico with nearly twice more also only has 4 electors. The electors within the College does not reflect the population distribution of the Catholics. The U.S. and Europe gets preferential representation. This needs to be fixed at some point. <<q.v. Pages 7 to 11 of ‘The Next Pope’ book (for free, of course) at Google Books.>> ** College then = 182 **

March 20, 2010: NZ Cardinal Thomas Stafford on turning 80 ceased to be an elector. We then had 109 electors. NZ no longer has a vote if there was to be a conclave. ‘Oceania,’ [i.e., the Pacific basin] now only has one elector, viz. Australian Cardinal George Pell (b. 1941) who was created a cardinal in 2005. It is just like the ‘old days.’ The October 1958 conclave that elected John XXIII (#262) was the first conclave attended by a cardinal from Oceania, Australia’s Norman Thomas Gilroy. <<q.v. Pages 116 & 261 of ‘The Next Pope’ (for free, of course) at Google Books.>> ** College then = 182 **

March 18, 2010: US Cardinal Adam Joseph Maida on turning 80 ceased to be an elector. We then had 110 electors. ** College then = 182 **

February 13, 2010: Cardinal Miloslav Vlk retired from being an Archbishop — but is still a bona fide elector. His resignation is per Code of Canon Law 401 § 1 requiring that diocesan bishops tender their resignation to the pope when they have completed their 75th year. ** College then = 182 **

January 27, 2010: Cardinal Aloysius Matthew Ambrozic on turning 80 became a non-elector. Canada has a total of 3 cardinals, two of whom are still electors; one of them, Cardinal Marc Ouellet a credible papabile. ** College then = 182 **

January 18, 2010: 76 year old Belgium Cardinal Godfried Danneels retired from being the Archbishop of Mechelen-Brussels. This did not alter the elector/non-elector numbers or the size of the College. Just changes the statistics as to the ‘occupations’ of the cardinals. ** College then = 182 **

January 10, 2010: Cardinal Armand Gaétan Razafindratandra, of Madagascar, Archbishop Emeritus of Antananarivo, died unexpectedly having had a fall while taking a walk. He had turned 84 last August.** College then = 182 **

December 31, 2009: Cardinal Cahal Brendan Daly, of Ireland, Archbishop Emeritus of Armagh, died late in the day on Decmeber 31, 2009. He had turned 92 in October. ** College then = 183 **

December 30, 2009: Japanese Cardinal Peter Seiichi Shirayanagi, who had turned 81 this past June, died unexpectedly, in Tokyo. ** College then = 184 **

December 18, 2009: Cardinal Józef Glemp of Poland, created a cardinal by his compatriot in 1983, turned 80. He thus ceased to be an elector. That reduced the number of electors. ** College then = 185 **

November 17, 2009: Cardinal Christian Wiyghan Tumi of Cameroon, at 79, retired as the Archbishop of Douala. ** College then = 185 **

The Rationale for these Demographics

Following my “Next Pope — Papabili List for 2009,” I had some questions as to the amount of sway the curial cardinals would have at the next conclave. So I did some analysis on the composition of the current College beyond just age and nationalities. This is an ongoing effort to keep the data that I found up to-date. I also used these stats when writing my ‘The Next Pope – After Pope Benedict XVI’ book.

On December 7, 2011, [Pearl Harbor Day], South Korean Cardinal, Nicholas Cheong Jin-suk [dob: Dec. 7, 1931], turned 80 and thus ceased to be an elector. Despite his age, he continues as the Metropolitan Archbishop of Seoul, the bishopric he has held since April 1998. He was created a cardinal in March 2006.

With his ‘aging-out’, South Korea, where 46.5% of the 48.8 Million population profess not to have a religion, and at most only 10.9% of the population is Catholic, loses its only cardinal elector — Cheong Jin’suk being the only cardinal from this country. What is interesting is that just 11 days ago we saw the same thing happening to the Netherlands, another rather secular country; i.e., its one and only cardinal becoming a non-elector. Again, as with the Dutch, I doubt whether we will see much hand-wringing on part of the South Koreans begging the Vatican for a cardinal elector.

Seoul, the Cardinal's domain, in South Korea

This will be the one and only cardinal to turn 80 in December 2011. The prior ‘aging out’ was on November 26, 2011. This is the 10th and last cardinal to ‘age out’ this year. Hence, any other changes to the core demographics of the College during the remainder of this year will be due to deaths or ‘resignations’.[Yes, I live in eternal hope.]

The College continues at 193. But, the electors are now down to 110.

Juan Sandoval Íñiguez

Later this same day, the Vatican announced that the pope has accepted the resignation of 78-year old, controversial Mexican Cardinal PriestJuan Sandoval Íñiguez [dob: Mar. 28, 1933], as the Archbishop of Guadalajara — a post he had held since 1994. He was 3.5 years past the nominal 75-year retirement age prescribed in Canon 401§1 of the 1983 Code. Created in November 1994 he has been an outspoken conservative who has famously said: ‘To be a protestant, one cannot have any shame‘ and likes to refer to gay men by the term ‘maricón‘.

The last time we were at 111 electors was on March 18, 2010.

We have lost 11 electors since the start of the year, but the College is still plenty big enough to elect the next pope.

We have had 13 cardinals retire in 2011.

As of December 7, 2011, there are 110 cardinal electors with 83 no longer able to participate in a conclave.[The electors represent 57% of cardinals.] **********The College as of September 3, 2011 is at 193.

April 1, 2011: Indian Cardinal Priest Varkey Vithayathil Dies. FIRST death of 2011. ** College at 200, electors = 116 **

March 4, 2011: US Cardinal Priest William Henry Keeler turns 80 and ceases to be an elector. ** College continues at 201, electors = 116 **

February 27, 2011: [Resignation valid as of March 1, 2011] U.S. cardinal priest Roger Mahony retired from being Archbishop of L.A. on the very day he turned 75. ** College continues at 201, electors = 117 **

August 30, 2010: French Cardinal Priest Paul Poupard turned 80 and ceased to be a cardinal elector. ** The College is still at 179; electors= 106 **

July 8, 2010: Colombian Cardinal Pedro Rubiano Sáenz retires as Archbishop of Bogotá. ** The College is still at = 179; electors = 107 **

July 7, 2010: U.S. Cardinal Theodore Edgar McCarrick, on turning 80, ceased to be an elector. ** The College is still at = 179; electors = 107 **

July 1, 2010: German Cardinal Walter Kasper, retires as the President, Pontifical Council for the Promotion of Christian Unity. ** The College is still at = 179; electors = 108 **

June 30, 2010: Italian Cardinal Bishop Giovanni Battista Re, retires as the Prefect, Congregation for Bishops and is replaced by Canadian Cardinal Marc Ouellet, my #3 papabili from 2009. ** The College is still at = 179; electors = 108 **

June 28, 2010: Indonesian Cardinal Jiulius Riyadi Darmaatmadja, retires as the Archbishop of Jakarta. ** The College is still at = 179; electors = 108 **

June 19, 2010: Latvian Cardinal Janis Pujats, retires as the Archbishop of Riga. ** The College is still at = 179; electors = 108 **

May 4, 2010: Italian Cardinal Luigi Poggi , at one time the archivist and librarian of the Holy Roman Church, died at the age of 92. ** The College now = 179; electors = 108 **

April 30, 2010: German Cardinal Paul Augustin Mayer, a Benedictine, died at the age of 98, twenty three days prior to turning 99. ** The College then = 180 **

April 16, 2010: Czechoslovakian Cardinal Tomáš Špidlík, a Jesuit, died at the age of 90. ** The College then = 181 **

March 31, 2010: Spanish CardinalJulián Herranz Casado, Opus Dei,on turning 80 ceased to be an elector. We then had 108 electors. Julián Herranz Casado (b. March 31, 1930) of Spain, the retired President of the Pontifical Council for the Interpretation of the Legislative Texts and President of the Disciplinary Commission of the Roman Curia turned 80 and thus ceased to be an elector. Spain has 10 cardinals, but only half of them are now eligible to vote. That still gives them a slight edge in terms of real representation. With 5 out of the 108 electors, Spain would a 4.6% representation if there were to be a conclave anytime soon. However, in terms of the world population of Catholics, Spain only has about 3.9%. So they can’t really complain, even though they probably will. Brazil with 3 times more Catholics has one less elector. Mexico with nearly twice more also only has 4 electors. The electors within the College does not reflect the population distribution of the Catholics. The U.S. and Europe gets preferential representation. This needs to be fixed at some point. <<q.v. Pages 7 to 11 of ‘The Next Pope’ book (for free, of course) at Google Books.>> ** College then = 182 **

March 20, 2010: NZ Cardinal Thomas Stafford on turning 80 ceased to be an elector. We then had 109 electors. NZ no longer has a vote if there was to be a conclave. ‘Oceania,’ [i.e., the Pacific basin] now only has one elector, viz. Australian Cardinal George Pell (b. 1941) who was created a cardinal in 2005. It is just like the ‘old days.’ The October 1958 conclave that elected John XXIII (#262) was the first conclave attended by a cardinal from Oceania, Australia’s Norman Thomas Gilroy. <<q.v. Pages 116 & 261 of ‘The Next Pope’ (for free, of course) at Google Books.>> ** College then = 182 **

March 18, 2010: US Cardinal Adam Joseph Maida on turning 80 ceased to be an elector. We then had 110 electors. ** College then = 182 **

February 13, 2010: Cardinal Miloslav Vlk retired from being an Archbishop — but is still a bona fide elector. His resignation is per Code of Canon Law 401 § 1 requiring that diocesan bishops tender their resignation to the pope when they have completed their 75th year. ** College then = 182 **

January 27, 2010: Cardinal Aloysius Matthew Ambrozic on turning 80 became a non-elector. Canada has a total of 3 cardinals, two of whom are still electors; one of them, Cardinal Marc Ouellet a credible papabile. ** College then = 182 **

January 18, 2010: 76 year old Belgium Cardinal Godfried Danneels retired from being the Archbishop of Mechelen-Brussels. This did not alter the elector/non-elector numbers or the size of the College. Just changes the statistics as to the ‘occupations’ of the cardinals. ** College then = 182 **

January 10, 2010: Cardinal Armand Gaétan Razafindratandra, of Madagascar, Archbishop Emeritus of Antananarivo, died unexpectedly having had a fall while taking a walk. He had turned 84 last August.** College then = 182 **

December 31, 2009: Cardinal Cahal Brendan Daly, of Ireland, Archbishop Emeritus of Armagh, died late in the day on Decmeber 31, 2009. He had turned 92 in October. ** College then = 183 **

December 30, 2009: Japanese Cardinal Peter Seiichi Shirayanagi, who had turned 81 this past June, died unexpectedly, in Tokyo. ** College then = 184 **

December 18, 2009: Cardinal Józef Glemp of Poland, created a cardinal by his compatriot in 1983, turned 80. He thus ceased to be an elector. That reduced the number of electors. ** College then = 185 **

November 17, 2009: Cardinal Christian Wiyghan Tumi of Cameroon, at 79, retired as the Archbishop of Douala. ** College then = 185 **

The Rationale for these Demographics

Following my “Next Pope — Papabili List for 2009,” I had some questions as to the amount of sway the curial cardinals would have at the next conclave. So I did some analysis on the composition of the current College beyond just age and nationalities. This is an ongoing effort to keep the data that I found up to-date. I also used these stats when writing my ‘The Next Pope – After Pope Benedict XVI’ book.

Come 00:00, November 26, 2011, Rome time [+6 hours US Eastern time at present], Dutch Cardinal, Adrianus Johannes Simonis [dob: Nov. 26, 1931], turns 80 and thus ceases to be an elector. He was the Archbishop of Utrecht, the Netherlands, from December 1983 to April 2007 — when he retired six-months after hitting the nominal 75-year retirement age for diocesan archbishops. He was created a cardinal in May 1985.

With his ‘aging-out’, Netherlands one of the most secular, progressive and beguiling countries in the world, blessed with people golden both in heart and looks, ceases to have any electors. But, I doubt whether this will keep too many of the Dutch up at night agitating or petitioning the Vatican for representation.

The Kurhaus, Scheveningen, the Netherlands one of my favorite hotels in the world.

This was the second cardinal to turn 80 this month, the prior occurring on Nov. 4. This is the 9th cardinal to age out this year.

The College continues at 193. But, the electors are now down to 111.

The last time we were at 111 electors was on January 27, 2010.

We have lost 10 electors since the start of the year, but the College is still plenty big enough to elect the next pope.

We have had 12 cardinals retire in 2011.

As of November 26, 2011, there are 111 cardinal electors with 82 no longer able to participate in a conclave.[The electors represent 58% of cardinals.] **********The College as of September 3, 2011 is at 193.

April 1, 2011: Indian Cardinal Priest Varkey Vithayathil Dies. FIRST death of 2011. ** College at 200, electors = 116 **

March 4, 2011: US Cardinal Priest William Henry Keeler turns 80 and ceases to be an elector. ** College continues at 201, electors = 116 **

February 27, 2011: [Resignation valid as of March 1, 2011] U.S. cardinal priest Roger Mahony retired from being Archbishop of L.A. on the very day he turned 75. ** College continues at 201, electors = 117 **

August 30, 2010: French Cardinal Priest Paul Poupard turned 80 and ceased to be a cardinal elector. ** The College is still at 179; electors= 106 **

July 8, 2010: Colombian Cardinal Pedro Rubiano Sáenz retires as Archbishop of Bogotá. ** The College is still at = 179; electors = 107 **

July 7, 2010: U.S. Cardinal Theodore Edgar McCarrick, on turning 80, ceased to be an elector. ** The College is still at = 179; electors = 107 **

July 1, 2010: German Cardinal Walter Kasper, retires as the President, Pontifical Council for the Promotion of Christian Unity. ** The College is still at = 179; electors = 108 **

June 30, 2010: Italian Cardinal Bishop Giovanni Battista Re, retires as the Prefect, Congregation for Bishops and is replaced by Canadian Cardinal Marc Ouellet, my #3 papabili from 2009. ** The College is still at = 179; electors = 108 **

June 28, 2010: Indonesian Cardinal Jiulius Riyadi Darmaatmadja, retires as the Archbishop of Jakarta. ** The College is still at = 179; electors = 108 **

June 19, 2010: Latvian Cardinal Janis Pujats, retires as the Archbishop of Riga. ** The College is still at = 179; electors = 108 **

May 4, 2010: Italian Cardinal Luigi Poggi , at one time the archivist and librarian of the Holy Roman Church, died at the age of 92. ** The College now = 179; electors = 108 **

April 30, 2010: German Cardinal Paul Augustin Mayer, a Benedictine, died at the age of 98, twenty three days prior to turning 99. ** The College then = 180 **

April 16, 2010: Czechoslovakian Cardinal Tomáš Špidlík, a Jesuit, died at the age of 90. ** The College then = 181 **

March 31, 2010: Spanish CardinalJulián Herranz Casado, Opus Dei,on turning 80 ceased to be an elector. We then had 108 electors. Julián Herranz Casado (b. March 31, 1930) of Spain, the retired President of the Pontifical Council for the Interpretation of the Legislative Texts and President of the Disciplinary Commission of the Roman Curia turned 80 and thus ceased to be an elector. Spain has 10 cardinals, but only half of them are now eligible to vote. That still gives them a slight edge in terms of real representation. With 5 out of the 108 electors, Spain would a 4.6% representation if there were to be a conclave anytime soon. However, in terms of the world population of Catholics, Spain only has about 3.9%. So they can’t really complain, even though they probably will. Brazil with 3 times more Catholics has one less elector. Mexico with nearly twice more also only has 4 electors. The electors within the College does not reflect the population distribution of the Catholics. The U.S. and Europe gets preferential representation. This needs to be fixed at some point. <<q.v. Pages 7 to 11 of ‘The Next Pope’ book (for free, of course) at Google Books.>> ** College then = 182 **

March 20, 2010: NZ Cardinal Thomas Stafford on turning 80 ceased to be an elector. We then had 109 electors. NZ no longer has a vote if there was to be a conclave. ‘Oceania,’ [i.e., the Pacific basin] now only has one elector, viz. Australian Cardinal George Pell (b. 1941) who was created a cardinal in 2005. It is just like the ‘old days.’ The October 1958 conclave that elected John XXIII (#262) was the first conclave attended by a cardinal from Oceania, Australia’s Norman Thomas Gilroy. <<q.v. Pages 116 & 261 of ‘The Next Pope’ (for free, of course) at Google Books.>> ** College then = 182 **

March 18, 2010: US Cardinal Adam Joseph Maida on turning 80 ceased to be an elector. We then had 110 electors. ** College then = 182 **

February 13, 2010: Cardinal Miloslav Vlk retired from being an Archbishop — but is still a bona fide elector. His resignation is per Code of Canon Law 401 § 1 requiring that diocesan bishops tender their resignation to the pope when they have completed their 75th year. ** College then = 182 **

January 27, 2010: Cardinal Aloysius Matthew Ambrozic on turning 80 became a non-elector. Canada has a total of 3 cardinals, two of whom are still electors; one of them, Cardinal Marc Ouellet a credible papabile. ** College then = 182 **

January 18, 2010: 76 year old Belgium Cardinal Godfried Danneels retired from being the Archbishop of Mechelen-Brussels. This did not alter the elector/non-elector numbers or the size of the College. Just changes the statistics as to the ‘occupations’ of the cardinals. ** College then = 182 **

January 10, 2010: Cardinal Armand Gaétan Razafindratandra, of Madagascar, Archbishop Emeritus of Antananarivo, died unexpectedly having had a fall while taking a walk. He had turned 84 last August.** College then = 182 **

December 31, 2009: Cardinal Cahal Brendan Daly, of Ireland, Archbishop Emeritus of Armagh, died late in the day on Decmeber 31, 2009. He had turned 92 in October. ** College then = 183 **

December 30, 2009: Japanese Cardinal Peter Seiichi Shirayanagi, who had turned 81 this past June, died unexpectedly, in Tokyo. ** College then = 184 **

December 18, 2009: Cardinal Józef Glemp of Poland, created a cardinal by his compatriot in 1983, turned 80. He thus ceased to be an elector. That reduced the number of electors. ** College then = 185 **

November 17, 2009: Cardinal Christian Wiyghan Tumi of Cameroon, at 79, retired as the Archbishop of Douala. ** College then = 185 **

The Rationale for these Demographics

Following my “Next Pope — Papabili List for 2009,” I had some questions as to the amount of sway the curial cardinals would have at the next conclave. So I did some analysis on the composition of the current College beyond just age and nationalities. This is an ongoing effort to keep the data that I found up to-date. I also used these stats when writing my ‘The Next Pope – After Pope Benedict XVI’ book.